Exerciser



Oct. 7, 1958 R. KING EXERCISER File d March 23, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /7 INVENTOR.

RUTH K/NG Oct. 7, 1958 R. KING 2,855,198

EXERCISER Filed March 23, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ear A'l/VG United States Patent EXERCISER Ruth King, Detroit, Mich. Application March 23, 1953, Serial No. 343,991 4 Claims. (Cl. 272-58) This invention relates to an exerciser and more particularly to a device adapted for self exercise of bedridden patients.

In many instances where persons have lost the use of their lower limbs through paralysis, fractures, or other causes, it is desirable to enable them to exercise those portions of the body affiicted in order to regain the use of such limbs. If the patient is confined to bed, exercise of the type required by the nature of the injury presents, in most cases, a great problem. It is the primary object of this invention to provide means for'the self exercise of such patients which are both simple and inexpensive and adapted for either hospital or home use. By varying the arrangement of its parts, the exerciser may be used for special conditions of injury as well as for the exercise of various limbs. Y

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the exerciser of this invention showing the side supports mounted on the base.

Fig. 2 is a end view of the exerciser.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the foot support.

Fig. 4 shows the parts of the exerciser assembled for one type of exercise.

Fig. 5 is another arrangement of the parts of the exerciser.

Referring to the drawings and Figs. 1 and 2 in particular, there is shown a flat wood base having four elongated holes 11 adjacent opposite sides, two on a side and spaced so a person can sit therebetween. Holes 11 are adapted to receive legs 12 of a pair of side supports 13 which are provided with a horizontal elongated hole 14 near their upper edge and with elongated holes 15 near each end inclined upwardly toward the center. The base 10 is adapted to be detachably mounted on the side supports at variable heights by means of pegs 16 which are received by holes 7 in legs 12. The base is adjusted to the height desired and then pegs 16 are inserted in the holes 7 which are adjacent the under side of the base.

When assembled in this manner it will be seen that a rigid seat is provided which can be used by a patient seated in bed. By grasping handles 14 a person is enabled to raise and lower himself to and from a sitting position and perform other back strengthening exercises. It will be noted also that if the pegs 16 are inserted in holes 7 above base 10, the device may be inverted to provide a convenient bed table.

For exercising the legs and back of a patient there is provided a rectangular shaped foot support 17 having four elongated holes 18 extending transversely thereof through which canvas straps 19 may be laced to secure and hold the patients feet thereon in their normal spaced apart relation. Straps 19 may also be used to attach the foot support 17 to the base 10. Hand straps 20 which may be attached to the foot support through holes 18 are also provided for use with some types of exercises. Straps 19 and 20 are preferably formed of fabric, such as heavy canvas.

2,855,198 Patented Oct. 7, 1958 The parts of the exerciser may be arranged in various relations according to the type of exercise desired. For example, as mentioned the base 10 may be assembled as shown in Fig. 1 and used Without straps or a seat on which the patient may be seated. With this assembly the patient may grip the handle portions provided by the holes 14 and lower and raise himself from and to a seated position to exercise the back muscles. Another type of exercise may be performed by using the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 4. In this arrangement it will be observed that .the side supports 13 are mounted on base 10 in a manner similar to the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. In addition, straps, 19 are extended from foot support 17 to one set of the openings 15 in the side supports 13. The straps 19 are laced to secure the patients feet in their normal spaced apart relation on the foot support 17. The straps 20, which may, if desired, be simply in the form of extensions of straps 19, are extended from the foot support length so that the free ends thereof may be grasped by the patient sitting in the assembly of base 19 and side supports 13. The straps 19 are laced so that, when thepatient seated on base 10 as shown in Fig. 4 extends his or her legs fully, these straps are tightly stretched.

It will be observed that the side supports 13, by reason of straps 19, form a fulcrum around which the foot sup port 17 is adapted to be rotated. At the same time the patient may lean back while pulling on straps 20 and thereby exercise the back and leg muscles by raising his. legs through the pull on straps 20. Thus, the base 10, with the side supports 13 mounted thereon, provides a center of fulcrum both for the patient and the foot support 17. In other words, the foot support 17 and the feet of the patient tend to rotate in generally the same are.

If it is advisable to keep the patient in a sitting position, only one of the side supports 13 is attached to the base 10 to form an armless seat as shown in Fig. 5. Straps 19 of the foot support are then fastened to the elongated holes 15 at each end of the side support and adjusted to the size of the patient so that the spine is maintained erect against the side support when the feet are outstretched in inserted in the loops 21 on the foot support. With this arrangement it will be observed that, by applying pressure alternately with one foot and then the other while at the same time pulling on the opposite strap 19, a walking motion is simulated which aids in regaining the use of the legs, ankles, knees or hips. This simulated walking movement exercise can be also formed with the arrangement shown in Fig. 4. Likewise, it will be appreciated that the exercise explained above with respect to Fig. 4 can also be performed while the patient is in a seated condition such as shown in Fig. 5. As explained above with reference to Fig. 4, the base 10 and side support 13, which in the showing of Fig. 5 actually provides a support for the back, form a center about which both the body and the foot support 17 are arranged to pivot or rotate.

It will be appreciated that the arrangements abovedescribed are merely illustrative of some of the arrangements possible. The members may be laced together with straps 19 to provide a plurality of other arrangements, depending upon the particular type of exercise desired.

Thus, it can be seen that the simplicity and detachable nature of the component parts of this invention together with the adjustable securing means provided therefor results in a unique exerciser which can be readily adjusted to the size of any patient of normal proportions and enables him to exercise various afflicted parts of the body in a manner most conducive to regaining the normal use thereof.

above, the side supports 13 and foot support 17 to simply provide 17 and are of sufiicient.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Serial No. 701,554, filed October 5, 1946, covering Exerciser.

I claim: 7

. 1. An exerciser of the class described comprising a base support of rigid, substantially non-yielding material forming a seat dimensioned such as to be positioned beneath the buttocks so as to support the weight of a persons body in the region of the thighs, a foot support having means thereon for securing and maintaining a persons feet thereon in their normal, spaced apart relation, flexible and substantially non-yielding strap means directly connecting said base support and said foot support in spaced relation so that when a person is positioned on said base support with his feet secured on said foot support and his legs fully extended, said strap means are tightly stretched, the length of said strap means being generally equal to the length of the patients legs, means on said base support generally aligned with the hips of a person supported on said base support and anchoring said strap means on said base support.

2. An exerciser of the class described comprising a base support of rigid, substantially non-yielding material forming a seat dimensioned such as to be positioned beneath the buttocks so as to support the weight of a persons body in the region of the thighs, a foot support having means thereon for securing and maintaining a persons feet thereon in their normal, spaced apart relation, flexible and substantially non-yielding strap means directly connecting said base support and said foot support in spaced relation so that when a person is positioned on said base support with his feet secured on said foot support and his legs fully extended, said strap means are tightly stretched, the length of said strap means being generally equal to the length of the patients legs, said strap means forming the sole means connecting said base and foot supports together, said base support comprising a substantially flat plate member having removable side members, said side members each having a plurality of openings therein, at least one of said openings being disposed adjacent the upper edge of said side members to serve as handles, said strap means being connected to said base support at one set of said openings.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein said plate member is provided with a plurality of openings therein, said side members having leg portions at their lower edges which are adapted to be received and secured in said openings in said plate member.

4. An exerciser of the class described comprising a base support of rigid, substantially non-yielding material forming a seat dimensioned such as to be positioned beneath the buttocks so as to support the weight of a persons body in the region of the thighs, a foot support having means thereon for securing and maintaining a persons feet thereon in their normal, spaced apart relation, flexible and substantially non-yielding strap means directly connecting ,said base support and said foot support in spaced relation so that when a person is positioned on said base support with his feet secured on said foot support and his legs fully extended, said strap means are tightly stretched, the length of said strap means being generally equal to the length of the patients legs, and flexible strap means attached to said foot support and adapted to be manually actuated by the person positioned on said base support in alternate sequence to provide his feet and legs with a movement simulating walking, said base support comprising a substantially flat plate member having a panel extending upwardly adjacent one side of said plate member, said panel having apertures adjacent the opposite ends thereof, said first mentioned strap means being secured to said base support by engagement with said last mentioned apertures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,623,671 Frankenfeld Apr. 5, 1927 1,705,745 Anderson Mar. 19, 1929 2,340,666 Johanson Feb. 1, 1944 

